I flew home on Sunday evening, but since I had to work at the crack of dawn on Monday, the boys stayed a fourth night with my parents. I was by myself in a quiet house for a night. You'll never find any complaints from me about a couple hours of peace and quiet! I hung around to admire the eclipse when I was done working on Monday before hitting the gym and finally getting my boys from my parents in a quick Costco parking lot exchange. I was excited to see them. After all, I love them with every fiber of my being. But truth be told, the crying got on my nerves almost immediately...and I probably would have been okay with an entire week away. Don't worry...we have big plans for a long trip on our tenth anniversary. Which is in almost two years. (I think I can make it.)
But back to the eclipse. Dylan bought a million pairs of eclipse glasses for the corporate retreat and remembered to leave a few pairs behind for us. I sent some with the boys for Gavin and my parents, and my mom was sweet enough to make a very safe viewing shield for Gavin with a paper plate. She showed him photos and videos, and he really understood what was happening and thought it was very cool. I loved seeing the photos and videos that she sent of him. "I see the moon in front of the sun!" he said. I have a streak of geek in me, and I loved hearing him get excited about it. I, on the other hand, enjoyed viewing the partial eclipse as a party of one in my own backyard. Funny enough, the path of totality started on the Oregon coast, right where Dylan was raised. It left the East coast in Charleston. I would have loved to be in either place for more reasons than just the eclipse. Maybe in eight years we'll get in the path of totality. I won't hold my breath, though.
On Wednesday, Gavin got a special early birthday treat from swim class. His name was on the board and he got a ticket for a free snack. They do a special safety class once a year or so where the kids jump in the pool wearing their clothes. Last year, he threw a tantrum when I tried to put his clothes on over his swimsuit. This year he was a champ. He actually seemed to swim better wearing a shirt, pants and shoes.
 |
| Baby brother in the audience. |
By Wednesday afternoon Dylan was on his way back to Scottsdale after about 11 days away from home. The company retreat was all fun and games...and drunk yoga. But even still, he was very ready to be back home. We left him without a car when we drove back from Tucson, so we went to the airport and drove right out onto the ramp to get him on his arrival back at SDL. The boys were thrilled.
The rest of the week was all about birthday. Gavin turned 4 on Thursday, so we made waffles with whipped cream and gave him a few presents in the morning before school. He got a birthday crown at school, and his class celebrated with some mediocre store-bought cookies that we had picked up at Target. This made him so happy. After work, we grabbed the boys and met my parents at Chick-Fil-A for some more celebrating. Gavin's cousins came, too! This was thrilling for him, and he had so much fun on that silly playground. My mom picked up my slack and bought a tiny little cake so that we could sing to Gavin yet again. He also opened his gifts from my parents. As he was getting ready for bed that night, he told Dylan and I that it was a really great day. I'd say!
 |
| Chick Fil A! |
 |
| Gavin helped me bake the cake on Friday...and by "help" I mean he just licked frosting off of every single bowl and utensil. |
The Week of Gavin continued through today for his big birthday party at Pump it Up. Birthdays are fun and so exciting, but overwhelming too! Our house is exploding with gifts thanks to the generosity of friends and family. We only gave Gavin a couple small things and also bought him a fancy Woom bike. We haven't even given him the bike and might even save it for Christmas because at this point it's all too much! Pleasant problems, to be sure. More on the birthday party next...
No comments:
Post a Comment